**1. Introduction**

Research has confirmed that if children have a successful transition experience when they enter formal schooling, they are more likely to succeed at school and in future life. Transition can be challenging for many children, as they are experiencing dramatic changes [1]. Importance has been attached to providing smooth and good transition experiences for children at policy level internationally, which is most obvious through looking at national preschool curriculum guidelines. The great majority of countries around the world that have national preschool curriculum guidelines have a chapter/section stipulating how to provide smooth and good transition experiences for children. Norway is no exception. "Transitions from kindergarten to primary schooling has moved up the Norwegian policy agenda in recent years" [2]. Transition from kindergarten to primary school has received considerable attention in the past decade in Norway and is dealt with in different reports and white papers to parliament [3]. There has been discussion on who should be ready in this transition process. Previously emphasis has been on children's readiness for school. UNICEF [4] uses the term school readiness which includes children's readiness for school, school's readiness for children, and families' readiness for school to provide a systematic framework for transition preparation. Research has documented the importance of readiness of all key stakeholders to ensure good transition experiences for children. This has provided the rationale for choosing the focus of this study.

The major goal of this chapter is to explore how national and local policies on transition from kindergarten to primary school are implemented at practical level through a case. In this chapter, the terms kindergarten and preschool are used interchangeably referring to the period before formal schooling. There is a Norwegian term—førskolebarn1 for children who are going to primary school. This term will be used throughout this chapter.

Children in Norway start school in August of the year when they turn six as a result of Reform 97,<sup>2</sup> which has influenced children's adaptation in transition period. Before 1997, children started compulsory education at the age of 7. Reform 97 aims to unify primary schooling and junior secondary schooling and to be consistent with senior secondary school reform in 1994. It is mandatory for all children aged 6–16 to attend school which is called grunnskole in Norwegian. These 10 years are divided into two levels, the first 7 years are called barneskole in Norwegian and the rest 3 years are called ungdomsskole.

Norwegian children are entitled to a place at kindergarten when they turn oneyear old no later than the end of October of the year that they apply for the place. Almost all kindergartens are mixed aged, with children aged one to three being placed in one group and children aged two and a half to six in one group. Some kindergartens place children into three groups one to two in a group, three and four in a group, and five to six in one group.
